Did This Drug Cause Your Asthma?

By: Steve Kroening

Did you know the number of people using inhalers for asthma has gone up significantly in the last 35 years? Between 1970 and 2000, the number of people suffering from asthma has nearly doubled!

Doctors have been baffled by the dramatic increase. But now, it appears researchers have figured out what is causing all the new cases of asthma.

Before 1970, parents typically gave their children aspirin when they had a fever. However, the aspirin was causing the children to come down with an even worse disease ... the sometimes fatal Reyes Syndrome.

Around 1970, doctors began telling the parents to switch to acetaminophen, the common ingredient in Tylenol. That solved the Reyes Syndrome problem, but now researchers have discovered that the acetaminophen is causing asthma.

A huge study, called the Nurses Health Study, followed 122,000 women for several decades. Each woman was to keep a record of all the drugs she used, as well as the development of any new health problems. The study showed that those women who used acetaminophen regularly have a significantly higher risk of developing asthma than those who never used it.

In fact, those who used the painkiller more than two weeks out of the month were 63% more likely to acquire the respiratory disease.

Acetaminophen is causing a dramatically increasing number of asthma cases. The good news, though, is that there's an easy way to prevent and reverse the damage done by acetaminophen.

Acetaminophen's toxicity occurs because the drug lowers blood levels of a natural compound called glutathione. Glutathione has an antioxidant effect in the body, particularly in the lungs. When your glutathione levels plummet, your risk of developing a chronic lung disease, such as asthma, goes up significantly.

Unfortunately, you can't just go out and buy an effective glutathione supplement. You see, glutathione is destroyed by stomach acid, so your body won't absorb any of it. So what's the best way to increase your body's levels of glutathione and beat asthma?

The antidote for acetaminophen poisoning is NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), a supplement that raises glutathione levels. For those who have asthma, NAC is a good choice because in addition to protecting the lungs by raising glutathione, it also thins the mucous in the bronchial passages.

I would suggest 400-1,200 mg daily of NAC for anyone who has a long history of using Tylenol or other painkillers with acetaminophen. I also recommend it for anyone who has breathing difficulties. You can find NAC in most health food stores.

By the way, when it comes to painkillers and asthma, there really are no good drug choices. Other pain relievers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Celebrex and Vioxx), increase asthmatic symptoms, too.

The bottom line is simple. Don't make a habit of using painkillers or any other drug. All drugs have toxic effects on the body when used regularly. If you're in pain, you must work on finding the cause and treating that cause rather than covering up the symptom with drugs.

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Steve Kroening writes for Success magazine and also publishes Wisdom's Edge. You can get Biblical tips on health, finance, relationships, parenting, and success, delivered to your email inbox every week. Simply visit www.wisdomsedge.com and sign up for this free e-zine.